Let's enjoy the moment

As of this writing, we have no idea who won the election, either nationally or locally.

But as President Gerald Ford said, "the long national nightmare is now over."

This election has gone on too long and set new lows for political gamesmanship. Sure, negative campaigning in which you smear your opponent works. But that's our fault, the voters, for not rejecting candidates who use those tactics. Of course, if both sides devolve to those levels, it would be nice to have a "none of the above" option on the ballot, which this year, might have won handily.

Either way, in the national race at least, the election is too close for the winning survivor to ever be able to declare a mandate. But time is running short for some bipartisan efforts to solve pressing problems.

And yet, for all its faults, the process works remarkably well. No matter how contentious the election has been, the transfer of power takes place peacefully and smoothly. Not many nations in the world can say that.

For those of you who ran and lost at the local levels, remember, never take politics personally. An election is not a validation of you. Most of the people who cast votes don't know you. If you're serious about why you ran, work harder at getting your message out and try again.

If you won, remember, never take politics personally. An election is not a validation of you. Don't for an instant believe that your election means people are going to throw rose petals in your path and anoint you with laurel leaves. Nobody is going to go out of their way to praise the things you do right. You will hear from them when they think you've done wrong, however. Public office is literally a thankless job and if you do it right it is hard work, as well.

If you voted, you did your civic duty. With that duty comes a responsibility to actually know what and who you voted for. If you didn't do your homework, which is part of that duty, you stand a good chance of voting for dooty.

In the end, it is all over. Win or lose, we accept the outcome and move on. And if you don't like the result, there's always the next election. Campaigning for that should begin in a few months.